(PFS 09-08) GM Dinketry and the Birthright Betrayed #2 (Inactive)

Game Master dinketry

@Everyone: Segray can use CLW wands, no need for UMD ^^

Segray has a sudden black out when the combat ends. She comes back to her senses, shaking her head, as she sees Chelk speaking with Kusk about a drink. She suddenly remembers that Kita is out of the building and has had no possibility to acknowledge what happened inside.

She opens the door outside to shout: "Kita, there's been some trouble inside."

Bluff: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15

At the sound of Segray's voice, Uzziah groans and waves a hand absently, "Honey, there is no need to bother Kita. The trouble is over. Oh and," Uzziah fumbles for his wand, "would you be a dear?...You are better with these than I."

"Of course!" replies Segray.

Just roll the dice yourselves :)

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

Kita swiftly stands up, his katana seeming to materialize in his hands as he dies so.

Rushing to the door, he surveys the scene. Noting that everyone is calm, and that the door to the back room is closed again, he decides that the situation is over for now and sheathes the weapon.

Looking closer, he notices how bloody Chelk and Uzziah are. He then realizes how close the mission came to failure.

Sinking to his knees before Uzziah, he bows his head.

"I have failed you.

I put my honor before the assignment and have failed in my duty to provide protection. Please, use my wand to heal your wounds."

Without looking up he retrieves his Wand of Infernal Healing and hands it to Segray to use.

"I humbly apologize to you and to the rest of the party. I beg of you to forgive me."

A few points of order: 1) The door to the back room is open, and 2) What safe, exactly, Remmy?

Continuing his slump in the chair, Uzziah pats Kita on the head, "Oh stop. No one is dead. The rat was there. That is why I said not to bother Kita, dear, he gets all 'honor' this and 'duty' that. I will not forgive you Kita because there is nothing to forgive. You were to watch the outside and that is what you did." Uzziah then raises his voice louder to be heard in the back room, "At least Kita did not go on a rant at this gentleman! What is taking you so long in there!? Hurry up and find that ring!"

Yeah we were attacked before we found the safe.

[ooc]Okay, now I'm confused, did we not find said safe? I thought we did. And if not, should i make a perception to find it? I was pretty sure we were given the exact location by our informant.[/b]

We were not given the exact location. 'wall safe in that room' is pretty much all we have to go off of.

Doh. Sorry, it's been an awful day and I've been off my game.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Well, while I take a couple of minutes to go help Remmy search, you can heal up with two zaps of my wand. If Chelk or Remmy are still injured, heal them up too.

"Oh, we haven't located the... ring yet? I will go assist our friend"

Moving into the back room, Kita notices the bits of ship on the floor. Wondering where the enemy is, Kita begins searching for the safe.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

If that doesn't find it, I'll take 20 searching, starting behind the picture of Arnisant slaying ghouls

Segray shrugs. "Of course, dear. You don't have to apologize. Uzziah, Remmy and Chelk put up quite a nice fight in here." she says with a smile.

After that, she chooses to help Kita and Remmy finding the safe.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Kusk sits with Chelk, slurping from a mug of brandy poured by the Taldan warrior. He glances with eyebrow cocked at Uzziah and Kita during their brief exchange, but seems unphased until Segray walks up.

"Of course, dear. You don't have to apologize. Uzziah, Remmy and Chelk put up quite a nice fight in here."

The half-orc stands up, eyebrows knit together as Segray walks away. He turns on Chelk.

"Fight?! What's she on about? What were you fighting in the back room??"

He seems agitated.

You guys are not helping yourselves at all.

Remmy, Kita, and Segray hunt through the back room, looking for evidence of a safe. Kita looks behind the painting of General Arnisant, but finds only more wood panelling. Mercutio stands in the doorway to the back room. Uzziah and Chelk sit at the table with the now-standing Kusk.

Segray raises an eyebrow. "What do YOU imply, sir? I meant that we had an argument with pretty decent points made. And we settled this the best way possible. I have to say I'm astoundingly proud of my dear husband. His counter-points were really interesting and puny."

Bluff, bluff the stupid ogre: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16

Guessing Take 20 wasn't possible

Kita keeps searching, moving to the shadow box with the shield next.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Chelk pours another slug into the watchman’s cup, and waves for the man to sit. ”You misunderstand sir, The lady is still sore about the loss of her jewel. You know how women are - an innocent word, a gesture... sometimes who knows what sets them off. You think you do something perfectly innocent and suddenly she’s in a rage. Still, let us drink to the lovely, mysterious creatures...

Remmy mutters in agitation and tries a different tactic, and tries to sniff out where the safe is with his nose... after all, it would be behind something that shouldn't be moved very often normally. Maybe a residual scent trail would lead somewhere unusual.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Chelk, please give me a Bluff or Diplomacy check - your choice.

Segray, you need to make a choice - either you replied directly to Kusk's angry statement, or you wandered into the back room and made that Perception check. You cannot do both. Again - your choice.

Bluff and Diplomacy are identical. Call it Dyplomacy.

1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15

Since this scene happened earlier than her lending a hand to search the safe, she'll stay in the main room with the others and Kusk.

"But you weren't in the back room to have an argument, milady..." Kusk's rational argument wavers in the face of another slug of brandy.

He sits back down.

"Right. You may be friends with the Earl, but I've got a job to do," he says, raising his mug of brandy to his lips. "You need to be done in that back room by the time that I finish toasting to the lovely, mysterious creatures ---" he raises his glass to Segray --- "provided that she stays with us here for us to toast."

Take 20 is not possible because you don't have all the time in the world. Take 10 could be possible. Aid Another is a thing, too!

Remmy Tries again to find this blasted safe!

perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

This time, something catches his eye, and he makes a beeline towards it... Kita, you want to assist just to make 100% this does it?

"Here dear," Uzziah says as he moves to get Segray a glass and then pour whatever is nearby in the aforementioned glass. Afterward he slumps back down in his chair exhaustedly.

Remmy calls for Kita to stop as the samurai moves to replace the painting of General Arnisant, his sharp eyes spotting some familiar cracks in the wood panelling.

Whispering to Remmy.

"I don't think we will have time to research this here. Slip it into your pack while I replace the painting.

The others will certainly be able to make something out of the legal wording of this document."

Kita starts to close the safe, replace the paiting, and clear up the remaining pieces of ship.

Segray shrugs. "But of course."

And she obliges the half-orc by taking a glass of her own as well.

Remmy does so, grabbing all the documents and items of interest in the safe... and really, anything at all in the safe, and sliding it under his cloak.

Let's go, b-before I develop more holes...

He quickly exits the room, calling out...

Mistress? I found the r-ring Mistress, can we go home now? S-supper will be over b-b-boiled we have b-been gone so long...

Remmy grabs the only two items in the safe and heads out of the room, leaving Kita alone in the back room.

What a nice horn. I hope the Earl acquired that through honest means.

Kita finishes cleaning up the fragments the best that he can and exits the back room.

Segray grins.

"Good boy. You're a loyal créature."

"Whelp!" Uzziah says as he stands up, "Thank you for your time, sir. Please allow us to get out of your hair."

“Well, it has been quite the pleasure,” drawls Chelk as he tips the generous remainder of his flask into the nightwatchman’s cup and winks. ”Must remember to mention to the Earl what a diligent and obliging employee he has looking after his interests. Shouldn’t be surprised is there was a wage increase heading your way shortly, what?”

With a final half salute, he gets ready to follow the others out.

@GM. I think you missed this:

Kita starts to close the safe, replace the paiting, and clear up the remaining pieces of ship.

I apparently did miss your post, Kita - it came prior to Remmy's last post. Thanks!

Watchman Kusk stands as the group leaves the chandlery, puzzled as always at nobles' foolery. He takes solace in his full cup of brandy and closes the front door behind the group as you leave.

Where would you like to go now?

Back to the inn to look over whatever was retrieved from the safe?

Yeah, that seems like a good plan

Agreed.

The group head back to their quarters at the inn. The downstairs is closed for the night (at this point), so the group needs to congregate in one of the rooms in order to examine their findings.

The first ledger records a long series of payments vaguely labeled as 'gifts' to various naval officers, spanning the course of a year. The second is the deed to the chandlery, showing ownership officially transferred to Earl Vernisant over a year ago.

Kita furrows his brow, trying to understand why the Earl would bother to keep this ledger locked up so securely.

We broke into that safe, and Uzziah almost died, for THIS? How does this even help us?

As he considers the information, he thinks back to the conversation they had with Patrician, recalling how the chandlery's rates had been increasing but the military officers kept using their services anyways.

"So, a military contractor bribing government officials in exchange for favorable contracts? Except in this case the military contractor is also a government official.

I confess, I am not quite sure what any of that really achieves for us. Is that enough to bring to the Magistrate? It probably warrants further investigation."

Uzziah sits quietly contemplating the new information.

"Why, it takes a man of substance and gloried name, and lays bare for us his throat! MUCH may be accomplished by those with such a weapon!"

For myself, and anyone else here of the Sovereign Court, it bullseyes the "recover blackmail or incriminating evidence" Faction Objective, as well as, DM permitting, fulfilling that goal without revealing our Faction Affiliation to non-members, since I don't recall any of us technically having cause to do so anyways!

I concur, Mercutio.

Remmy holds out the teeth on his necklace and gives a grin.

The leech d-dies when exposed to a little bit of s-salt. To us, it is a most delicious s-seasoning, to it, it is d-d-death. Same with t-t-truth to a s-s-slimeball. Won't t-t-take much.

The group sleeps well through the evening and regroups in the common room of the inn the next morning to compare bruises and notes from the night previous.

Where to now?

For myself, and anyone else here of the Sovereign Court, it bullseyes the "recover blackmail or incriminating evidence" Faction Objective (...)

Is that a faction card objective?

Segray wakes up fully rested. Through breakfast she eagerly waits for the others to be ready to go, as she only eats a few seeds. She asks the others, wary not to be overheard by other customer:

"Do you think we enough evidence to prove the man wrong in the Magistrate's eyes? Or should we find and capture said "pirates"? Or maybe we can try to find and confront the naval officers he bribed? What do you think?"

"Hmmm..." Uzziah sounds, pressing his fingertips together. "If we can get anything more on these pirates, that would be beneficial. Also, we have yet to visit Count Zespire."

"We already know that we can't investigate the pirates without getting deputized. We will either need to do a much better job of sneaking into their tunnels or will need to visit the magistrate first."

He then gives Uzziah a puzzled look.

"Count Zespire? His lands lie up the river. We were never given a clear idea of where thise lands are, at least not that I recall.

Are you suggesting taking this evidence directly to the Count rather than to the Magistrate?"

"No. The Count is merely not a friend of the Earl and therefore could perchance have something we could use. Plus, the Count's ships are supposedly getting waylaid, maybe being on one could get us an audience with pirates."

Remmy nibbles at bread, clearly still unhappy with being shot yesterday and waiting on the others to decide what to do.

The c-c-count may be able to provide additional indictments, if he has b-b-been using his spy n-network to make inroads.